Shear type razor



June 6, 1950 G. 1. WAHNISH 2,510,612

SHEAR TYPE RAZOR Filed lay 8, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

George I. BY I riage I. At the rear end of the flange 6 is an upstanding wall 8 constituting a rear stop for the blade holder 1.

Extending forwardly of the base of the cutter head 3 is a pair of spaced parallel flanges or plates 9 and Ill. The uppermost of said Plates, indicated at 9, constitutes a comb or hair-engaging element which receives and maintains the hairs, while a cutter blade [2 operative over the outer face of the plate 9, shears off the hairs. The plate 9 is rounded at its forward edge, as indicated at It and for a substantial portion of its area and adjacent to its forward edge, it is foraminous, or provided with a plurality of closely-spaced independent holes as indicated at M. A space H is provided between the perforated plate 9 and the lower plate [0, such a space constituting a hair collection chamber for the severed hairs, and this space may, if desired, be closed by a removable cover which is not shown for clarity in illustration, but which may be used to confine the cut hairs in the space ll durin the shaving operation.

Extending rearwardly from the perforated plate 9 is a flange 15, serving as a guide for the bladeholder or mounting 1, now to be described. Said blade-holder consists of a channel-shaped member having a lower flange it provided with a hole I! which receives the eccentric pin l8 at the end of the motor-driven drive shaft is of conventional form, and which extends through an opening 29 provided in the base portion 5 of the body of the cutter head. This engagement of the blade-holder by the pin I8 is such as to cause the blade-holder and the blade l2 carried by it to be oscillated so that the forward or cutting edge of the blade I2 is moved over the perforated portion of the plate 9 to shear on hairs protruding through the holes I4 in the plate. The bladeholder 7 also includes a top flange 2| provided with an inclined upper face 22 which constitutes a seat on which the blade 2! rests. The blade I2 is confined and prevented from endwise move- .ment on said seat by means of end walls 23 on the seat 22, and the blade is restrained from forward movement relative to the seat 22, by means of lugs .24 at the front of the seat. The blade I2 is provided with notches 25 in its opposite ends to accommodate the lugs 24.

The blade 42 when placed upon the seat 22, is held against the same and has its forward cutting edge portion 21 pressed resiliently but firmly against the top face of the apertured plate 9, by means of a spring finger 2B. In the drawing the finger 26 is shown as formed integrally with the blade-holder 7, but in actual commercial production said finger will probably be a separate element suitably attached to said blade-holder. The spring finger 26 extends forwardly and downwardly and holds the front cutting edge 21 of the blade against the perforated plate 9 with constant and uniform firmness to insure an effective shearing action between the blade 12 and plate 9, and as the blade is oscillated over the face of the plate 9 a honing action is also imparted to the sharp edge 27 of the blade so that the cutting edge thereof is constantly maintained in sharp condition. However, due to the effective shearing action secured as the blade is held in firm contact with the face of the plate 9 and is moved thereover, an extraordinarily sharp edge is not required on the blade l2.

The blade-holder I straddles the flange 15 and when the razor is operated, the blade [2 is caused, by the oscillating movement of its holder, to be moved rapidly over the perforated plate 9 and it will shear off hairs projecting through the perforations M. In using the razor, it is held with the blade next to the skin, or in other words, with the blade l2 interposed between the skin and the perforated plate 9. When held almost flat against the face, the hairs will enter the perforations [4 and will be sheared off by the blade [2 operating between the surface of the skin and the plate 9, the hairs being held in the perforations while the blade shears them off. Due to the fact that the cutting edge 21 of the blade [2 is maintained firmly against the outer face of the perforated plate 9, the cutting edge 21 will not cut or abrade despite the fact that the blade is held in direct contact with the skin but will provide an exceptionally smooth and close shave.

I have found that the provision of separate and independent holes or perforations M in the plate 9 is an important feature of the invention since the use of elongated slots, and particularly those which are open ended, is not conducive to a good shearing action since such slots allow the hairs to either flatten when being sheared or else move out of the slots altogether. Hence, the use of the separate minute holes or perforations M in which the hairs enter and are held during the shearing operation by a blade interposed between the surface of the skin and a co-operating shearing plate is of the essence of the present invention.

While I have described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that various changes may be made in the illustrated structure without departing from the spirit of the invention. The change, shape and thickness of the blade may be varied, the means for resiliently holding the blade in firm contact with the surface or" the perforated shearing plate may also be changed materially. While the perforated plate 9 is shown as fiat, such plate and the blade co-operating with the same may be arcuate or curved and other modifications readily made. Hence, I do not wish to be understood as limiting the invention to the illustrated embodiment but intend that the same shall be comprehended as being within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

i. In a razor of the character described, a head having a pair of spacedforwardly-extended flanges, one of said flanges being provided With a substantial area perforated with a plurality of separate,- relatively tiny holes, the space between the fianges constituting a hair-collection chamber, a channel-shaped blade holder having an inclined outer face constituting a blade-seat, a blade clamped against the seat, said blade having an edge portion held against the outer face of the perforated flange and sliding moved over the outer face of said flange, means for slidably moving the blade holder, and a guide flange provided on the head for guiding the blade holder.

2. In a razor of the character described, a head having a forwardly extending fiat flange having an area formed with a plurality of separate, relatively tiny, closely-spaced independent holes whereby said area is substantially foraminous, said head having a rearwardly extending flange constituting a support for a blade holder, a channel-shaped blade holder resting upon said support and slidable thereover, a seat on the outer face of the blade holder for supporting a blade in an inclined position, said blade having a cutting edge extending forwardly of the holder and held in contact with the outer face of the forwardly-extending perforated flange, means on the holder for urging the forward portion of the blade into resilient contact with the outer surface of the perforated flange, and means for slidably moving the blade holder on its support to thereby slidably move the cutting edge of the blade over the perforated area of the forwardlyextending flange. 7

3. In a razor, a head having a forwardlyextending flat plate having an area formed with a plurality of separate, relatively tiny, closelyspaced independent holes whereby said area is substantially foraminous, said head having a rearwardly-extending flange slidably receiving a blade-holder, a blade-holder having a channel fitting said flangerand slidable thereon, the top of the blade-holder being inclined, a blade seated on said inclined top of the holder, said blade 20 having a forward sharpened edge projecting beyond the front edge of the holder and held in contact with the outer face of the forwardlyextending perforated plate, pressure means on the holder for urging the forward portion of the blade into resilient contact with the outer surface of the perforated plate, said pressure means consisting of a spring finger anchored at the rear end of the holder and having a free end exerting downward pressure on the forward part of the blade, and means for slidably moving the blade-holder on its support to thereby slidably move the cutting edge of the blade over the perforated area of the forwardly-extending plate.

GEORGE I. WAHNISH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,603,237 Fisher Oct. 12, 1926 1,984,586 Keith Dec. 18, 1934 2,402,233 Beatty .a June 18, 1946 

